I Gave You My Heart
by darveyscactus
Summary: Donna and Harvey celebrate their first Christmas as a couple in Boston with Marcus and his family, getting them talking about having a baby and starting a family of their own. Harvey spends the day looking at his nieces and nephews, daydreaming about his own future child. REPOST FROM DARVEY SECRET SANTA 2019.


**A very belated re-post of my 2019 Darvey Secret Santa fic ~ hope you enjoy!**

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"Harvey, look! It's snowing!" Donna exclaims excitedly, pointing at the large flakes falling outside the window and coating the ground in a dusting of white.

"Looks like it'll be a white Christmas after all," he replies coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him, enjoying the soft feel of her bathrobe against his skin and breathing in her fresh, clean scent. She relaxes into his embrace for a few moments before crossing the room and picking up the two mugs of tea that Marcus' daughter Haley had left while they were in the bath, passing one to Harvey.

They'd arrived at Marcus' the night before and were immediately thrust into a flurry of pre-Christmas activities. They'd spent the day apart, Harvey helping Marcus with last minute items around the house and Donna jumping at the opportunity for a girls' day out with Haley and Lily. She made it home with time to spare before dinner at Marcus' restaurant and suggested they make use of the bathtub in their guest bathroom, something Donna frequently points out is missing from Harvey's - now their - apartment in New York.

"I know Marcus said Haley has been quiet recently, but she was quite the chatterbox today," Donna says, plopping down on Harvey's lap and draping her legs over the side of one of the plush armchairs near the window.

"Oh really?" he asks, hands coming to rest across her knees, "and what is it you two ladies talked about?"

"Well," she starts, letting out a breath of air, "for one, she's _very _excited to be in our wedding in September," she says with a smile, tracing her fingers across the top of Harvey's palm as she spoke, "and she had plenty of opinions about food and color schemes and decorations," she adds with a smirk.

"I'm sure between the two of you, Rachel, and your mom it'll be the best wedding ever," Harvey replies, quickly pulling her in for a kiss before she has the chance for a rebuttal.

"You have to say that," she sasses after they part, "you're paying for it."

"Do you know what else she asked about?" Donna asks after a few minutes of comfortable silence.

"How her Uncle Harvey managed to trick the most beautiful woman in the world into marrying him?" he teases, wiggling his eyebrows slightly, which makes her laugh out loud.

"No," she retorts, letting out an exasperated sigh and rolling her eyes at him, "she wanted to know when we're going to give her a little cousin."

Harvey smiles and lets out a breath at her response. The question isn't a shock to him, as it's a conversation they've found themselves having more and more frequently over the last few months. It's been a thought in the back of his mind for awhile now, since the moment he saw her face light up when she first held Lucy Litt when she was just a few hours old. Seeing her this way - teasing him about conversations she's had with their niece - he's filled with that same feeling - excitement and curiosity mixed with the slightest bit of uncertainty.

_Claire Elaine Paulsen Specter came into the world on her own terms - three days early and wailing at the top of her lungs. As Harvey stands by Donna's hospital bed feeling a slight panic, both Donna's mom and her doctors assure him that everything was happening according to plan. After a relatively short seven hour labor, he hears that first ear splitting cry of his baby girl, and his world changes in an instant. He locks eyes with Donna as the nurses clean their baby off, and tears spill down both their cheeks. He gives her hand a squeeze and angles to give her a quick kiss, murmuring an 'I love you' as he does. _

_The nurse passes their daughter to Donna, and as she rests the impossibly tiny little girl against her chest, Harvey is so overcome with emotion he has to sit down. The sight before him is something he once thought he'd never be lucky enough to have, but seeing Donna's soft and steady hand smoothing over Claire's little head and down the length of her back, he knows that this is exactly where he's supposed to be. She's just a few minutes old, but he can already tell she's gorgeous like her mother. He cracks a smile as he notices wisps of light red hair already visible on the top of her head and he catches his breath as he studies his wife - sweaty, exhausted, and with matted hair but to him, she's never looked more beautiful. She's spent years making him a better man, she made him a husband, and today - the day she made him a father - he's falling head over heels in love with her, and their daughter, all over again. _

'What about you?" Donna asks, hopping off his lap to start getting ready for dinner, "what did you boys get up to today?"

"Well," he starts, following her across the room, "we hung the lights on the house and the tree in the front yard."

"I saw, they're a bit crooked," she jokes, which earns her a sideways glance from Harvey which makes her laugh.

"And then Jason and I threw a baseball around in the yard for a bit," he continues, stepping into the closet to pull out a sweater for the evening.

"Ah so _that's_ why you asked for a back massage in the bath, old man," Donna teases, wordlessly taking the grey sweater he'd chosen out of his hands and replacing it with a dark green one to better compliment the dress she picked out for herself.

"Among other reasons," he sasses back, picking her up by the waist and moving her to the other side of him, clearing a path for him to exit the closet.

"He's a freshman this year, so he's nervous about making the school team in the spring," Harvey explains as he helps Donna zip the back of her dress.

"So he asked _you _for help?" she teases, turning to face him, her hands coming to rest gently on his chest.

"You're mean, you know that?" he retorts, before pulling her in for a quick kiss.

_Claire hadn't been able to talk about much of anything besides the upcoming baseball season for weeks, yet the morning of her first game the nine-year-old is quiet and mopey. Harvey had been looking forward to the new season too, as he'd volunteered as one of the coaches for her team, so he's confused by her sudden mood swing._

_Claire comes down for breakfast dressed and ready to go, but sits quietly at the table, her head resting in one of her hands while the other pushes her spoon around her bowl of cereal, only a few bites making it to her mouth. While Donna busies herself in the kitchen getting snacks ready for Claire and her teammates, Harvey rounds the table and crouches down by her side so that they're eye level._

"_What's up with you today, Noodle?" he asks and Claire involuntarily cracks a smile at Harvey's use of her favorite nickname, "aren't you excited for the new baseball season?"_

"_I don't know if I want to play this year," she admits with a sigh, looking down at her feet._

"_And why not?" Harvey presses, curious as to what had changed her mind in the past twenty-four hours._

"_Someone in school yesterday told me that girls can't play baseball, only boys." she says, looking up at Harvey with glassy, tear-filled eyes._

"_Well, that person has obviously never seen you play," he quickly replies, "you're a Specter, and Specters are great at baseball."_

"_Well, you and Jason and Uncle Marcus are," she says with a sigh, "but you're all boys."_

"_Listen to me Noodle," he says, lifting her chin with his index finger so that she was looking at him, "you don't get to let one stupid person tell you what you can and can't do. Have you ever seen anything Mommy can't do?" he asks._

"_Well, she burned the cookies for my bake sale last week?" Claire offers after a bit of thought, her unexpected answer making Harvey laugh out loud._

"_But that doesn't stop her from trying, does it?" he reasons._

"_I guess not," Claire admits._

"_Well, you're as strong as her, and then some," Harvey tells her, "because you've got the best of both of us in you. Do you _want _to play baseball?" he asks her, and she nods in reply._

"_Then you go out there and prove them wrong. Deal?"_

"_Deal!" Claire replies enthusiastically after thinking on Harvey's words for a minute, giving her dad a high five and hopping down from her chair._

Christmas Eve breakfast was a long standing and revered tradition in the Specter household and, as Harvey and Donna make their way downstairs the next morning, they're met with all sorts of delicious smells wafting from the kitchen. The scene in the kitchen is organized chaos as Harvey and Donna enter - Haley is setting the table while Jason mixes the pancake batter and Marcus tends to the bacon and eggs sizzling on the griddle.

Harvey nods a good morning at Marcus as he crosses the kitchen to the coffee pot, pouring a cup first for Donna and then for himself. He hops onto one of the stools at the counter next to Donna as she taps a bit of vanilla into both of their cups.

"Marcus, can I help with anything?" Donna offers after taking a sip of coffee.

"No, no," he assures her, "Jason is on pancake duty, but other than that, we're almost done," he says just as the doorbell rings.

"Jason, go get the door for your grandmother," Marcus instructs, turning slightly towards his son.

"Haley, go get the door," Jason counters without missing a beat, which makes Harvey chuckle under his breath, earning him an elbow in the side from Donna.

"Dude, Dad _literally _just asked you to do it," Haley retorts, unamused by her brother's antics.

"Yeah, but you're younger," he argues.

"You're closer," she says, gesturing to the door.

"Will _someone _please just answer the door!?" Marcus asks again, letting out an exasperated breath. Jason finally relents with a dramatic sigh and shuffles his feet towards the front door.

"They sound like us when we were kids, don't they?" Marcus asks Harvey.

"Maybe, but I always had the upper hand," Harvey counters with a smirk.

"Always?" Marcus challenges.

"Mostly," he mumbles in agreement, glancing down and taking a sip of his coffee as Donna laughs at his quick defeat.

"What about you Donna?" Marcus asks, "did you and your sister ever fight?"

"Oh my god, all the time," she admits with a laugh, "and it was always over nonsense - who was taking too long in the shower, or who took who's shirt out of who's closet, stuff like that," smiling at the memories.

_Claire is two and a half when Andrew is born and she's instantly smitten. Donna and Harvey had been worried that having another child in the house diverting their attention wouldn't sit well with her, but she'd taken to her new job as Mommy's little helper quickly and with intensity. _

_She's five when she pushes him down the stairs in frustration, because he's in her way at the top of the stairs and won't give her back her favorite stuffed animal. She feels bad immediately and she watches him tumble backwards, hitting his head on the corner of the bottom step. His wails bring both Harvey and Donna to his side immediately and just as Donna is about to reprimand Claire, she bursts into tears too. _

"_Daddy?" Claire asks later as Harvey is putting her to bed, "is Andrew gonna be broken forever?" _

"_What do you mean?" he asks, smiling at the innocence in her question._

"_Mommy put a band-aid on his head, like when she fixed one of my dolls after he pulled her arm off. The band-aid means his head is broken, right?" she asks again, looking up at Harvey expectantly._

"_He's not broken," he confirms, and his words bring a big smile to Claire's face, "he's just got a little cut and he'll be all better soon," he explains._

"_Okay," Claire replies, satisfied with his answer._

"_It wasn't nice of you to push him, you know that?" Harvey continues, the tone of his voice dropping slightly._

"_I know," she says, her lips pouting as her eyes glance downwards, still a bit upset by the whole ordeal, "I told him I was sorry," she adds._

"_I know," Harvey says, "and that's good. But I think you should tell him again tomorrow. I think that would make him feel a lot better," he explains, smoothing down her hair with his palm._

"_Can I tell you a secret?" Harvey asks, and Claire nods in response, eyes lighting up at the thought of something shared between just the two of them._

"_You're his big sister, and that's the most important job you'll ever have," he starts to explain, "you get to help him out, teach him things you already know, and make sure he's always okay."_

"_Like how I help him get books off the top shelf of the bookcase in the playroom because he can't reach?" Claire inquires._

"_Exactly like that," Harvey confirms, "and when he's ready to go to school, you'll be able to tell him all about it, because you've already done it. And if anyone is mean to him, you'll be there to stand up for him."_

"_Is that what you did for Uncle Marcus?" she asks._

"_It's what we still do for each other," he says, "Andrew is your built-in best friend, and if you always have his back, he'll always have yours. How does that sound?"_

"_I'm going to be the best big sister ever!" Claire confirms, giving Harvey an enthusiastic nod._

_Over the years, the two of them only grow closer. Like with any siblings, they quarrel about anything and everything at home - from who's turn it is to unload the dishwasher to who got the bigger slice of Thanksgiving pie - but they always have each other's back. Andrew is sensitive, and Claire has their mother's carisma, but regardless of the situation they're always the first to come to each other's aid. _

After breakfast is cleared from the table, Lily occupies Haley and Jason in the living room with last minute gift wrapping for Harvey and Marcus and tales of her recent trip to Italy with some of her art students. Donna pours herself another cup of coffee and keeps Harvey and Marcus company in the kitchen as they start the dishes.

"I don't know what kind of magic you pulled," Marcus jokes as he turns to face Donna, "but Haley had a lot of fun with you yesterday."

"She's a great kid," Donna confirms with a smile, "I had a great time too."

"She's been so quiet and moody lately," he admits, "it was nice to see her come out of her shell a bit."

"She's a teenager now, Marcus," Donna says with a laugh, "they're unpredictable."

Harvey stays quiet through Donna and Marcus' exchange, but she can feel him tensing by her side as they speak. "They don't come out like that, you know," she says, "you get about thirteen years with them before they shut you out completely," she sasses, throwing a bit of good natured teasing at her husband.

"Please," Harvey quickly retorts, "we both know any daughter of ours will have your lip and your ability to hold a grudge. I'll be doomed from the start," he teases as she reaches up to give him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the kitchen to join Lily, Haley, and Jason in the living room.

"'Any daughter of ours?'" Marcus asks once Donna is out of earshot.

"We've been...trying,' Harvey admits with a sheepish grin, glancing up at his brother. Marcus doesn't reply, but pulls him in for a quick hug and a clap on the back as the two share a smile.

_When Claire is fifteen, she comes home from school one day and without a word to either of her parents, she marches upstairs and dramatically slams her bedroom door. The force of the door rattles the hall mirror off its hook, sending it shattering to the ground. Hearing the noise, Donna turns to Andrew for an explanation, but he just gives her a shrug and retreats into the kitchen for a snack._

_Hours later, she emerges from her bedroom, eyes puffy and red with traces of mascara under her eyes and down her cheeks. She slinks down to the kitchen in search of a pint of chunky monkey - a habit she inherited from her mother. She thinks she's alone, so when Harvey clears his throat to get her attention as she's closing the freezer door she jumps about a foot in the air in shock, which makes him laugh out loud._

"_You want to tell me what those dramatics were about earlier?" he asks, gesturing for her to take a seat at the counter next to him._

"_Not really," she mumbles in response, eyes laser focused on the pint of ice cream in front of her._

"_How about you tell me anyways," he tries, playfully bumping into her side, which forces her to crack a smile against her will._

_She doesn't say anything right away, letting out a deep sigh and scooping a few spoonfuls of ice cream into her mouth before speaking again._

'_It's not a big deal," she says with a shrug, a last ditch effort to avoid the conversation that was about to happen one way or another._

"_It sounded like a pretty big deal this afternoon," he tries again and sees her shoulders drop slightly, a small smile creeps across his face as he knows his daughter is about to open up to him._

"_Last week Noah asked me to homecoming on Friday, but today he told me he's going with someone else, and he just asked me to make her jealous," she admits, her eyes brimming with tears again._

_Harvey doesn't respond right away, but wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer so her head is resting on his chest._

"_Noodle I'm sorry, that boy doesn't know what he's missing," he says finally, happy to see her smile a bit at his use of her childhood nickname._

"_And now it sucks because I'm going to be the only one of my friends going alone, because I wanted to ask Connor, but Stephanie told me to wait because she thought Noah was going to ask me. So I did, and now Connor is going with someone else - and he's the one I really wanted to go with in the first place," letting out another sigh, a few tears escaping down her cheeks as she spoke._

_His heart drops as she tells him the details and it becomes clear to him that she'd fallen victim to a teenage ploy aimed to hurt her and benefit others. It's moments like this that he just wants to wrap her up in his arms, hold her tight, and keep her safe from whatever shit the world slings at her. He knows he and Donna raised her to be strong and speak her mind, but sometimes the world got the best of her and she came home broken. _

"_Do you still want to go on Friday?" he asks gently, not wanting to get into the habit of helping her run away from her problems, but also understanding that being a teenager is hard, and sometimes she needed a break from the drama. _

"_I _was _really excited for it," she says, "but now it's kind of been ruined with all this crap," she admits. _

"_How about I take you out instead?" he offers, giving her a reassuring smile._

"_I'd like that," she confirms, sinking into his open arms for a hug._

Harvey and Donna, along with Marcus, Haley, Jason, and Lily had spent Christmas Eve night sitting in the living room working on a puzzle and watching Christmas movies. It was an early night for everyone, with both Donna and Harvey sneaking back downstairs at some point in the night to place final gifts under the tree for the next morning.

Donna wakes up early on Christmas Morning as the bright sun streams through the crack in the curtains. She stretches her arms above her head and rolls over on her other side, coming face to face with Harvey, who's clearly been awake for some time.

"It's really creepy when you watch me sleep like that, you know," she jokes after he catches her lips in a quick kiss.

"Well Merry Christmas to you too," he teases, running his fingers through her hair and tucking a strand behind her ear.

"Merry Christmas," she replies, her voice softening as she shifts closer to him, melting into his embrace while his fingertips trace lazy patterns across her forearm and back.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Marcus quibs as Harvey and Donna make their way into the living room sometime later that morning. His comment earns him a sideways glare from Lily as she passes Donna and Harvey each a cup of coffee and greets them with a kiss on the cheek.

They gather around the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room, everyone still wearing the matching Chirstmas PJ sets that Haley insisted on, as Lily begins to pass out gifts.

"This is for both of you," Lily says, as she places a small maroon gift bag on the ottoman in front of Donna and Harvey, "just a little something to remember your first Christmas as a couple," she continues with a smile as Donna removes the tissue paper from the bag.

"Lily, it's beautiful," Donna gushes as she pulls the gift from the bag and turns it over in her hands, so Harvey can see it too. It's a Christmas tree ornament - a small white porcelain disk with a bright green ribbon strung through a hole at the top to hang it on the tree. On one side there's a delicately painted Christmas tree, fully decorated with an angel at the top and presents underneath. The other side reads _Harvey and Donna, Christmas 2019_, written in green script.

_Andrew is a second year associate at a law firm in Manhattan when he calls Harvey a few weeks before Christmas. The call doesn't come out of the blue, as the pair talk over the phone frequently - even more so now that Donna and Harvey had finally retired to a Boston suburb - but Harvey is surprised by what Andrew asks him._

"_Hey Dad, can I ask you something?" Andrew says once Harvey answers the phone._

"_Sure Drew, what's on your mind?"_

"_Um, well," he falters for a second, taking a breath as he searches for the right words, "I think I want to, um, ask Colleen to come home with me for Christmas," he says, "but I'm not sure."_

_Harvey lets out a breath as his son talks, a smile stretching across his face as he listens to what's on his mind. He hasn't met Colleen yet, but he's heard plenty about her from Andrew, and Claire, over the nearly three years the couple had been together. Given his question, Harvey gets the sense that Andrew's relationship is getting exactly as serious as Claire suggested._

"_Why aren't you sure?" he pries gently._

"_What if she thinks it's too soon, or doesn't want to, or already has plans?" Andrew rambles._

"_Listen," Harvey says calmly, "You can be the smartest guy in the room and still have no clue when it comes to love, I know that," he says with a chuckle, "But I also know that if you're nervous, it means you care about her. A lot."_

"_I do Dad," he confirms, and Harvey is sure he's smiling as he speaks, "so much. She's, wow, she's everything."_

"_So take the risk and ask her to spend Christmas with you because _when _she says yes, it's going to feel so good you're going to wonder why you were even nervous about it in the first place," he offers._

"_Thanks Dad."_

"_I can't wait to meet her," he says before hanging up the phone._

_Colleen says yes and on Christmas Day, Harvey finds himself sitting on the couch with Donna in the living room of their new home outside Boston as Andrew and Colleen and Claire and her fiancé Wyatt are sprawled in front of the tree, chatting and exchanging gifts._

_Try as they might - and Donna really did try - they had been unable to convince either of their children to make the move to Boston with them. They're New Yorkers through and through and Harvey's heart swells as he watches them interact with their partners. He's proud of his kids - they've found people to spend their lives with who love them in all the ways they should be loved. They have challenging and fulfilling careers, with Andrew carrying on the Specter legacy in the legal world and Claire blazing new trails at one of the top architecture firms in the country. Despite the busyness and successes of their own lives, they always find time to come home and enjoy their parents' company, something that both he and Donna are incredibly grateful for. _

_He catches Donna's eye as she crosses the room refilling coffee cups and smiles warmly at her. She returns his smile and he's filled with a love so familiar to him he can hardly remember a time when it wasn't like this between the two of them. She's his best friend, the love of his life, she's had his heart from the second he met her, and she made everything possible._

"There's still one more present!" Haley shrieks from her position under the tree collecting all the discarded wrapping paper. "It's for you, Uncle Harvey," she says as she passes him a small box wrapped in silver paper and tied in a green ribbon.

Harvey gives Donna a sideways glance as he accepts the gift, knowing it's from her as it's the same silver wrapping she'd used on the rest of her gifts. Donna catches his gaze and smiles at him expectantly, plopping down on the couch beside him and gesturing for him to open it.

Harvey removes the wrapping to reveal a small brown box. As he lifts the flap and pulls out the gift his jaw drops and his eyes glass over - unable to find the words to describe how much the gift he's holding means to him.

"Congratulations, you two!" Lily gushes, peering over Harvey's shoulder and reading the words 'World's Best Dad' on the coffee mug in his hand, "you're going to be wonderful parents," she says, engulfing them both in a hug from behind and giving her son a kiss on his head.

"Donna," he breaths, turning to face her and she lets out a breathy laugh at his wide eyes and bemused expression. "Is this...I mean, are you...are we…?" he stumbles, his mind racing to catch up with his mouth.

"We are," Donna confirms, her smile now a mile wide as a tear escapes the corner of her eye. Harvey's grin matches hers as he practically leaps up from the couch, pulling her with him and swallowing her into a hug. He lifts her off the ground slightly, spinning her around before setting her back down in front of him. Her hands land on his shoulders and move down so they're resting on his chest as he pulls her in for a quick kiss. "We're going to have a baby," he breathes, looking at her in absolute awe.

"So we're really doing this? We're really having a baby?" he asks later that night as they climb into bed, his hand coming to rest on her belly as he pulls her into his side.

"We really are, Specter," she confirms with a laugh, her hand landing on top of his, intertwining their fingers.

"Do you think we're ready?" he asks, glancing down at her and she can detect a hint of concern in his voice.

"I don't think anyone is really ready to become parents," she reasons, "but I think we make a great team, and that we'll figure it out as we go," she says and Harvey murmurs in response.

"Alright, girl or boy, what's your wager?" he asks a bit sarcastically, which makes Donna laugh out loud.

"Girl, definitely," she replies, without missing a beat, "my eyes, your hair."

"Wrong," he quickly counters, "_my _eyes, _your _hair."

"As if you could handle another redhead," she teases.

"Like you said, I'll figure it out."

"I hope she likes Shakespeare," Donna says softly.

"Please," he counters, "she'll be a Specter, she'll play baseball."

"_Paulsen _Specter," she clarifies, "and why can't she like both?" she challenges.

"Fair point. Do you think she'll be a lawyer?" Harvey asks, almost hopefully.

"No," Donna says, quickly dismissing that idea, "she'll be something much cooler than that," she teases.

"Well, whatever she does, she'll be perfect," he gushes, "because she's half you," he says before pulling her in for a kiss.

"And half you," she replies, smile plastered to her face as she leans in to kiss him again.


End file.
